World News Vol 32 No 4
Thats Outrageous:
Chick-fil-A restaurants are known for their heavy foot traffic and busy drive-thrus, but a Chick-fil-A in Santa Barbara, California, is getting so much business that the city council is considering forcing the restaurant to move by declaring it a “public nuisance.”
The local Chick-fil-A has operated at 3707 State Street since 2013 but has received complaints from residents due to backups that spill from the drive-thru and onto the road. Although a Burger King was previously located at the same site, it did not cause such problems, according to the city council’s March 1 agenda report.
The city says it wants to help the owners find a new location.
The city council unanimously voted on March 1 to move toward a potential public nuisance designation, according to the News-Press newspaper.
“This is not about the goodness of the company or the goodness of the owners and certainly not about the goodness of the employees,” said council member Kristen Sneddon. “Chick-fil-A has a good problem here. They are so successful they have outgrown their site. It’s possible they were oversized for that site, to begin with.”
A March 1 report from city officials says traffic from the drive-thru blocks the right lane on State Street, leaving only one of two lanes open. Further, traffic often blocks the sidewalk and bike lanes.
Disney to Restore Same-SexKiss in Children’s Movie ‘Lightyear’
Disney’s Pixar recently announced that it is restoring a kissing scene with a same-sex couple in its upcoming film, Lightyear, following backlash over how Disney’s CEO initially responded to Florida’s parental rights education bill.
The movie, which stars Toy Story character Buzz Lightyear, will feature a kissing scene with two female characters. The film is set to release in theaters on June 17.
According to Variety, Pixar’s LGBTQ employees sent a letter to Disney CEO Bob Chapek denouncing his decision to cut this particular scene and other LGBT scenes from past Pixar films.
Most U.S. Adults Think Country is Moving in Wrong Direction Morally
Despite their dwindling support for organized religion, a majority of Americans, including Christians and non-Christians, are concerned that America’s moral compass is pointed in the wrong direction and they’re turning to family for guidance, according to a survey released by Deseret News.
The “Faith in America” survey conducted by The Marist College Poll and sponsored and funded in partnership with Deseret News, fielded responses from 1,653 U.S. adults.
Only 40% of respondents in the survey reported attending religious services at least once or twice a month, which represents a sharp drop from the 52% who reported they regularly attended religious services in April 2011.
Despite the drop in support for organized religion, however, more than half, 54%, of Americans say they still believe in God as described in the Bible. This includes 86% of all who practice a religion and about a third of individuals who report they do not practice a religion, the survey shows. Another 53% of Americans also report that they pray daily.
When it comes to their thoughts on where the country is headed morally, most Americans also agree the nation is heading in the wrong direction.
According to the survey, some 72% of Americans say the nation’s moral compass is pointed in the wrong direction, while only 22% say it’s pointed the right way. Among Christians, 74% agree that the nation is moving in the wrong direction morally, while 69% of those who don’t practice a religion agree. Majorities of individuals who identified as Democrats, 51%, Republicans, 90%, and Independents, 77%, also agree.
“Religious service attendance has continued to trend downward over the past decade, despite over half of Americans saying they believe in God as described in the Bible or pray daily,” Hal Boyd, executive editor of Deseret National, said in a statement. “With younger age groups less likely to attend religious services than their older counterparts, the downward trend of religious attendance is likely to continue.”
The survey shows older Americans are more likely to attend religious services at least weekly than their younger counterparts. Some 43% of adults aged 60 or older reported attending religious services weekly compared with 21% of those 18-29, 25% of those 30-44, and 27% of those 45-59.
Researchers also found that some 78% of those who do not practice a religion believe religion is not necessary to be moral, while 54% of Christians do not think being religious is necessary to live a moral life.
